


Paper Hearts

by yeahitsdee



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Kara Danvers cant talk to girls, Origami, Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, big softies, proposal, to distract from season 5 angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 07:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21316585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeahitsdee/pseuds/yeahitsdee
Summary: Kara and Lena are interns at Catco, and Winn dares Kara to leave a paper crane on Lena's desk. In doing so she makes a very important discovery.Or,Kara doesn't know how to talk to pretty girls and so she does the next best thing.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 12
Kudos: 582





	Paper Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back to, I wrote this instead of studying for a large test, I hope you enjoy the show.

"I don't think I've ever seen her smile before." 

"Winn, be nice."

"What? You know I'm right."

Inwardly she was wondering about the warmth that the smile brought to her bones. And, perhaps smile was too strong a word, it was the barest hint of a twitch at the edge of tight lips, but Kara was willing to count it as such. If only because it filled her up with a pleasant static. Kara kept those thoughts to herself. 

"Maybe she just needed something to smile about," she said instead.

The delicate crane sat cradled in the fingers of the stoic woman from across the low cubical wall. The paper of it was nearly the texture of cloth from being folded, unfolded, then folded again, but still, she smiled at its crooked, well-loved, wings. It sent a strange surge of pride through Kara, warm and honey-sweet. She kept that to herself too. 

Winn offered a grunt of affirmation before wandering off to his desk. 

Kara decided that Winn's childish dare to leave the crane on Lena's desk wasn't the worst idea he'd ever proposed. Far from it, in fact, seeing Lena smile was the best thing to happen to her all-day. 

She watched Lena gently place the crane in her desk drawer before she sat down. Kara decided to take her seat as well, working was more productive than staring at Lena.

It was odd, Kara had never paid Lena much mind beyond a passing acknowledgment of her sharply attractive features and her cold demeanor, but now she harbored a newfound curiosity. She wanted to know more, wanted to know if she truly did need a reason to smile. The thought dampened her prideful glow. She may have an investigation ahead of her.

Kara honestly didn't plan to dig into Lena's life, but after one too many journal entries centered around her, she had to do something. And so a cursory glance of Google turned into a two-hour-long deep dive into Lena Luthor's life. Not that there was much to find. She had a brother in prison, she followed two people on social media, and she was next in line to run LuthorCorp. It wasn't much, and it had taken more effort than Kara was willing to admit. 

Armed with the information she had gathered, Kara decided that she would be a reason for Lena Luthor's smile. From the look of it, maybe one of her only reasons. The thought made Kara's stomach churn with unease. 

It took three days, but finally, Kara managed to fold a perfect crane, with crisp creases and flat wings, then to gather up the courage to place it on Lena's desk. She watched carefully as Lena reached her desk, scooped the crane up and smiled, just a little wider than before, then placed it with the other. 

And thus, a new routine was borne.

Every few days, Kara would make a crane and leave it for Lena. After just short of three weeks and five paper cranes, Kara began attempting other animals. She started with a frog, then a cat, and a butterfly. She punctuated the end of the month with a small purple dinosaur. A dinosaur that managed to draw a small laugh from Lena Luthor's lips, it had tumbled out onto the desk before Lena could stop it. The surrounding desks fell silent.

Lena cleared her throat and gracefully sat before placing her dinosaur among her ever-growing collection of tiny paper creatures. 

Kara had a new goal. A mission. Make Lena Luthor laugh. Full and carefree, without the strained pinch of panic tailing it. 

////////////////////////////

"Kara, this is an amount of journal entries about a coworker you've never spoken to that's bordering on inappropriate,"

"It's four, Alex," Kara clarifies, "and stop being nosey, it's rude."

The pages met with a clap, "All I'm saying is you're kind of obsessed with this girl,"

The defense came swift, "I am not obsessed," and just a tad too shrill.

"You've made it your life goal to make her smile. You said it, almost verbatim,"

A sharp, "I like making people smile!" with a, "and I didn't say it was my life goal," tripping along after.

"So, you like her?" it was an absurd, outlandish claim. Kara harbored no such feelings for Lena, she just liked making people happy. Being a nice person did not equal feelings. Alex clearly needed to recheck her math. 

"Absolutely not. I just happen to like making people smile, and yes, maybe she has a particularly nice smile, but that doesn't mean anything," Alex raised a brow, "Just because her laugh is one of the sweetest sounds I've heard does not mean I have a crush on her,"

Alex remained silent.

"And, so what if I do, she seems like a really cool person! She may seem really frigid, but maybe people need to give her more of a chance before making a decision. Lena is super smart and has very pretty eyes, and I'm sure that if people took the time to get to know her, then they would think she is a lovely person." Kara declared proudly. Clearly taking pride in her analysis of Lena Luthor.

"Then why don't you speak to her?" Alex questioned calmly. 

"I, well, because...um," Kara grasped desperatly for an answer, "because, I may have the, teensiest, little crush on Lena," she finished quietly.

Alex hooked an arm around Kara's shoulder affectionately, "atta girl, Kara,"

Kara let out a miserable, garbled groan into the palms of her hands.

////////////////////////////

The few flowers that Kara left on Lena's desk seemed innocuous enough, but the small red paper heart that Kara had spent several painstaking hours to perfect seemed like some sort of bold proclamation. Despite the army of not-quite-perfect, dented little hearts, Kara almost wished for Lena to write it off, to not think too hard, to smile and add it to the collection. Though, Kara had a feeling that all Lena could do was think too hard. Some part of it felt so incredibly juvenile, some sort of note passed asking Lena to check "do you like me, yes or no?" on a piece of crumpled notebook paper. Lena probably received hundreds of those in her youth. 

Kara felt silly. She stood to retrieve the heart, to wait until tomorrow and leave a swan or a little gondola she saw, when Lena entered the room. Kara felt dread seep into her stomach, dropping into her seat and watching over the low fiber wall. She expected a scoff, perhaps a frown, or her usual reaction, but certainly not a blush. A shocked partition of lips and a faint blush made visible only by her fair complexion. 

Lena surveyed the room, searching for the admirer who had left the heart. She lingered on a few people, not looking terribly pleased, but not upset either, before landing on Kara and quickly darting away. 

Kara's heart sank. 

/////////////////////////////

A few days of debating passed before Kara ultimately decided to leave more small gifts. Even if Lena wasn't interested in Kara, she could still make her smile, and that was more than enough. As she approached with her small gondola, complete with a small rower and paddle, she found a sticky note where her trinkets normally sat. Written in small, elegant script was a short message, 

_ Thank you for your paper presents. _  
_ -Lena_

Kara's heart nearly beat out of her chest, she peeled the note up and replaced it with the little boat. Grabbing a sticky note and a pen from Lena's stack, she scribbled a reply,

_ I'm glad they make you smile. _

She didn't dare sign it, but she felt the need to reply all the same.

The little notes became part of their routine. Every few times, Kara left an origami gift a brief message greeted her on a brightly colored square of paper. Often words of thanks or a compliment on her creatures, but some were more personal. Not in overt ways, just small things between the lines that made Kara turn down her lips wistfully. The mention of few, if any, friends in the city, Kara ached for Lena, for the loneliness she must feel. She decided that soon, she would reveal herself, she would see if she could build a friendship with her. 

/////////////////////////////////

Kara's notebook landed open on the stained breakroom counter as she frantically fixed herself a coffee. She carefully poured creamer and sugar in when Lena hesitantly entered the stark room. She approached the machine stiffly, grabbed a paper cup, and appeared to struggle at the sight of the communal coffee maker.

"It's not as bad as it looks, I promise," Kara spoke without meaning to. 

Lena looked equally as startled by Kara's speaking as Kara was, "I, it," but Kara's phone interrupted with a loud ring. 

Kara jumped, apologized, then scooped up her coffee and left in a rush. Lena stood quiet, before noticing the notebook by the pot, the space between her brows creased when she scanned the familiar scrawl across the pages. 

Before she could look any further, Kara scurried back in, grabbed the notebook, then left in a flurry of good days. 

//////////////////////////////

Mistakes had been made. The first being the fact that Kara allowed Alex to walk her from Noonan's to Catco after lunch. One seemingly harmless decision had spiraled into a brilliant explosion of embarrassment. 

They had been walking, chatting, enjoying the day when Alex decided to bring up Lena Luthor. Kara had mumbled around the topic, waiting for Alex to tire of teasing and drop the subject. 

Relief washed over her shoulders as they reached the Catco doors and had she been paying less attention to the sidewalk, and more attention to the space in front of her, she never would have run headlong into the very object of her affections. Mistake number two.

Her face burned and she scrambled back, apologizing profusely, failing to stem the flow of words. She stopped only when Lena placed a hand on Kara's forearm and spoke, "Kara, don't worry, it's alright," Kara went still and silent at her gentle chuckle, "no harm no foul."

Kara managed a nod and a strained word of thanks. Lena swept passed, shooting a small smile over her shoulder at Kara. Once the door closed, Alex let loose the laugh she'd been holding, doubling over and wheezing until no sound came out. Kara only managed a smitten smile and proudly announced, "Lena knows my name!" 

"You're like a damn schoolgirl!" Alex managed in a weak voice.

Kara knocked her knuckles against her sister's shoulder, effectively quieting her.

/////////////////

Learning that Lena was leaving felt like a punch to Kara's gut. They had been exchanging notes for nearly four months when finally one told Kara that Lena was leaving. She was going to work for her family's company. She was bordering on panic when she had frantically told Alex about her predicament. That she hadn't the chance to talk to her yet and she didn't know what to do. 

Alex had ultimately convinced Kara to tell her. Based on the logic that if Lena did, in fact, want to get to know Kara, then they could exchange contact information. And if she didn't, then Kara would never have to see her again, and the ordeal would be behind her. As much as the thought of never seeing Lena again pained her, she was willing to at least try. And so Kara spent several hours making a bouquet of folded paper flowers. 

Lena always arrived far earlier than she had to, a fact Kara knew due to one too many late nights turned early mornings. This knowledge had allowed Kara to plant her origami creations for months and to now show up with her faux pas lilies. 

Lena turned the corner into the intern offices, a small cardboard box in hand, slowing in her strides when she saw Kara just to the left of her desk. She dropped the box on its surface and dragged an eyebrow up, looking almost unbelieving.

"I figured I ought to bid you farewell in person," she informed, with a small shy grin. Alex would have been proud of her level of composure. Even if she was omitting the panic that filled her at the thought of Lena leaving. 

"So, it was you after all," Lena mused, still not seeming to fully belive the things in front of her, "I almost didn't want to hope that it could be,"

Lena's eyes were soft, her voice even softer.

"You wanted it to be me?" Kara asked, in an awed daze.

And Lena laughed, full and carefree, and Kara's heart melted, "Well, I certainly wasn't sneaking glances at Mr. Schott," 

Kara rocked back on her heels, blushing wildly, before scrambling to divert the conversation to more stable ground, "You knew it was me?"

"I didn't know, per se, but I had a hunch," Lena explained, and at Kara's perplexed forehead crinkle she added, "I saw your writing in the notebook you left on the counter, truthfully, I'd been looking at your notes so much I had it all but memorized."

They were both pink in the cheeks and nervous. 

"Could I, uh, get your number?" Kara tried for suave but was more shy than anything else, "please?"

Lena gave a gentle laugh before reaching over and scribbling her number onto a bright pink sticky note and handing it to Kara, who beamed, bright as the rising sun.

//////////////////////////////////////

Five years, five years filled with countless paper animals in lunch bags, on pillows when Kara left early, on tables when she worked late, holding earrings and necklaces on anniversaries, and so much love that Kara almost couldn't believe it. And all because of a juvenile dare made by Winn. 

Kara had been reflecting while she waited for Lena to arrive home. She had spent the day in the labs, something she rarely did now that she was CEO, and Kara had a plan. A plan to bring a perfect end to an already pleasant day. The table was set on the balcony, warm and candlelit, with a small, lidded, serving tray in the middle. 

Lena was due any second, Kara had just finished plating their food when keys jangled in the lock. She smiled at Lena as she opened the door, and as she slipped off her heels. She hugged Kara, planting a light kiss on her cheek, before following her to the balcony.

They ate, and Lena spoke excitedly about her day in R&D while Kara listened. They were nearly done, with only scraps of pasta and sauce left, when Lena asked about the small tray in the center. 

"Could it, perhaps, be that chocolate lava cake I was craving the other day?" She asked playfully, and Kara merely shrugged, grabbing the plates and running them into the kitchen sink to "soak."

When she returned, she slid the tray across to Lena and smiled, earning a cocked brow in question. Lena carefully lifted the lid and set it aside, revealing an intricately folded paper crane, the body larger than usual, with a flap designed to be opened. Her eyes lifted up to Kara's, and she waved a hand, signaling for Lena to open it. 

When she did, she found a delicate gold and emerald ring nestled in a bed of velvet, the bottom side of the flap decorated with the words _ will you marry me? _

Tears were in her eyes as she stood and pulled Kara to her feet and into a passion-filled kiss. 

"I'll take that as a yes?" Kara mumbled between kisses.

"Yes, you absolute sap," Lena laughed out, burying her nose in Kara's neck, "always yes."

**Author's Note:**

> I only edited the first, like, half of that so please let me know if I need to fix anything.  
I'm on [Tumblr](https://yeahitsdee.tumblr.com/)  
feel free to come yell at me.


End file.
